Knitted functional fabric

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a knitted functional fabric for wicking moisture away from the body of a user. The fabric comprises a technical face formed from a yarn; a technical back formed from a yarn; and a spacer formed from a yarn that connects the technical face to the technical back. The technical face and the technical back comprise a hydrophilic yarn.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a knitted functional fabric for wicking moisture away from the body of a user, and to a garment comprising the knitted functional fabric.

BACKGROUND

Sweat and moisture trapping underneath a garment during everyday use is a common problem that affects a large number of people, especially in warmer and humid climates. Sweat and moisture trapped beneath a garment leads to an uncomfortable damp or wet feeling on the skin, and may mean the garment cannot be worn for a long time. Various textile technologies have provided improvements in this field by using composite materials and fabrics, which can provide benefits relating to comfort, hygiene, reduced appearance of sweat patches on the garments, and easier washing/laundering of garments, especially for sportswear, everyday-wear clothing and other functional components.

However, many of these existing technologies require additional materials such as absorbent materials: nonwoven components, crystals, polymers and other hydrophilic/hydrophobic coatings to provide the beneficial functionalities of quick drying, moisture wicking and spreading to facilitate fast evaporation. However, these additions and extra processes may increase the cost and sensitivity of the product, resulting in more complex manufacturing processes and lower durability due to the additional coatings and materials incorporated. Moreover, currently existing systems for moisture wicking are not very efficient and generally are unable to provide fast moisture wicking. There is therefore a need for a garment that provides fast moisture wicking to facilitate the consumer need for increased comfort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventors have surprisingly found that a knitted functional fabric described herein provides advantageously high moisture wicking without requiring additional coatings, complex manufacturing processes or nonstandard materials.

The invention therefore provides the following numbered clauses.

1. A knitted functional fabric for wicking moisture away from the body of a user, the fabric comprising:

-   -   a technical face formed from a yarn;     -   a technical back formed from a yarn; and     -   a spacer formed from a yarn that connects the technical face to         the technical back, wherein the yarn used for the technical face         and the technical back comprises a hydrophilic yarn.

2. The knitted functional fabric according to Clause 1, wherein the fabric further comprises a spacer formed from a yarn that connects the technical face to the technical back, where the yarn used for the spacer comprises a hydrophobic yarn.

3. The knitted functional fabric according to Clause 1 or Clause 2, wherein the yarn used for the technical face and technical back is formed by a first and a second yarn that are plaited together, the first yarn being a hydrophilic yarn formed on an outer surface of the technical face or technical back and the second yarn being a hydrophobic yarn formed on an inner surface that faces the spacer.

4. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the hydrophilic yarn is formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide (e.g. a nylon), a polyester, cotton, cellulose acetate, rayon, flax, modified acrylics, modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic, and any yarn designed to have a cross section that is hydrophilic (i.e. a high wicking capability).

5. The knitted functional fabric according to Clause 4, wherein the hydrophilic yarn is formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide (e.g. nylon), a polyester, rayon and modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic or any yarn developed with a specific cross section to be hydrophilic (high wicking capability), optionally wherein the hydrophilic yarn is a nylon (e.g. nylon 6), a polyester or rayon.

6. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of Clauses 3 to 5, wherein the second yarn is a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn.

7. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of Clauses 3 to 6, wherein the first yarn has a diameter that is larger than the second yarn.

8. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of Clause 7, wherein the diameter:diameter ratio of the first yarn to the second yarn is from 8:1 to 1.5:1, such as from 5:1 to 2:1, such as 3:1.

9. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of the preceding clauses, wherein the spacer yarn is formed from a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn.

10. The knitted functional fabric according to Clause 9, wherein the hydrophobic yarn is an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn.

11. The knitted functional fabric according to Clause 10, wherein the elastic yarn is elastane.

12. The knitted functional fabric according to any one of Clauses 2 to 11, wherein each hydrophobic yarn mentioned is independently selected from a polyester, optionally wherein the polyester is a recycled polyester, a recycled polyester with micro filaments, a polyester yarn with a star-like filament cross-section and coolmax™ high wicking yarn (poly cotton), (e.g. a recycled polyester with micro filaments).

13. A garment formed from the knitted functional fabric according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12.

14. The garment according to Clause 13, wherein the garment is the whole or part of a bra or a protective garment, optionally wherein the protective garment is head gear, a knee guard, and an elbow guard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows the spacer knit structure notation. 101 is the spacer yarn, 102 is the technical back (back) and 103 is the technical face (front).

FIG. 2 shows the outer layer of the knitted functional fabric which is plaited at the front and back.

FIG. 3 shows the plated fabric knitting diagram for preparing the knitted functional fabric.

FIG. 4 shows the 3D structure of the knitted functional fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention provides a knitted functional fabric for wicking moisture away from the body of a user, the fabric comprising:

-   -   a technical face 101 formed from a yarn;     -   a technical back 102 formed from a yarn; and     -   a spacer 103 formed from a yarn that connects the technical face         101 to the technical back 102, wherein the yarn used for the         technical face 101 and the technical back 102 comprises a         hydrophilic yarn.

The reference numerals used above are non-limiting and refer to those in FIGS. 1 to 3 .

In embodiments herein, the word “comprising” may be interpreted as requiring the features mentioned, but not limiting the presence of other features. Alternatively, the word “comprising” may also relate to the situation where only the components/features listed are intended to be present (e.g., the word “comprising” may be replaced by the phrases “consists of” or “consists essentially of”). It is explicitly contemplated that both the broader and narrower interpretations can be applied to all aspects and embodiments of the present invention. In other words, the word “comprising” and synonyms thereof may be replaced by the phrase “consisting of” or the phrase “consists essentially of” or synonyms thereof and vice versa.

In embodiments herein, various features may be described in the singular or the plural. It is herein explicitly contemplated that references to the singular are to be understood as including the plural, and references to the plural are to be understood as including the singular, unless such an interpretation would be technically illogical.

The spacer 103 may act to bring the technical face 101 and technical back 103 closer together. When the spacer brings the technical face 101 and technical back 103 closer together, it reduces the overall thickness of the knitted functional fabric and this may help to increase the rate of moisture transfer from the back to the face.

When the knitted functional fabric is worn, the hydrophilic yarn that forms the technical face and technical back promotes wicking of moisture (e.g. sweat) away from a user's skin. The use of a hydrophilic yarn helps ensure that the rate of wicking and evaporation is high. This is because the hydrophilic yarn touching the user's skin (i.e. the yarn forming the technical back) rapidly wicks moisture away from the skin and distributes it over a wide area. That is, the hydrophilic yarns in the technical back will absorb moisture from a user's skin and, due to the hydrophilic nature of the yarns used in the technical back 103, the moisture is rapidly dispersed (e.g. by capillary action) over an area significantly larger than the initial area of the user's skin that generated the moisture. Following this distribution, the moisture then passes through the knitted functional fabric to the hydrophilic yarn on the side opposite the user's skin (the technical face). That is, the moisture travels from the technical back through the spacer to the technical face. The hydrophilic yarn in the technical face, which is exposed to the environment, encourages the moisture to spread over a large surface area (e.g. by capillary action), thereby increasing surface area:volume ratio of the moisture and therefore its evaporation rate.

In some embodiments of the invention, the spacer 103 may be formed from a yarn that is hydrophobic. This may help to increase the rate of wicking by ensuring that the spacer does not absorb moisture and instead rapidly channels moisture to the outer side of the knitted functional fabric. Thus, in some embodiments of the invention the yarn used for the spacer comprises a hydrophobic yarn. As will be appreciated, while the spacer may be formed from hydrophobic yarns, this is not essential and other yarns may be used, either in place of hydrophobic yarns or in combination with them. The exact make-up of the spacer can be readily determined by the skilled person based upon the desired application of the fabric, such that the yarn(s) used to make the spacer are selected to provide the desired speed of transport of moisture from the technical back to technical front.

Each of the technical face and technical back may be independently formed from a first yarn and a second yarn that are plaited together. It will be appreciated that one of the technical face and technical back may simply be formed from a hydrophilic yarn (or a combination of a hydrophilic yarn and an elastic yarn). In the situation where the technical face and/or back are formed from a first and second yarn plaited together, the first yarn may be a hydrophilic yarn formed on an outer surface of the technical face or technical back and the second yarn may be a hydrophobic yarn formed on an inner surface that faces the spacer.

A similar principle may be applied to the inner sides (or surfaces) of the technical face and technical back. When used herein, the inner surface/side of the technical faces refer to the portion of the technical face and technical back that face the spacer. These inner faces may comprise a plaited hydrophobic yarn as noted above. Thus, the technical face and technical back may be formed from both a hydrophilic yarn and a hydrophobic yarn, with the hydrophilic yarn being positioned to form the outer surface of the face (i.e. the surface in contact with the external environment), while the hydrophobic yarn forms the inner surface of the face (i.e. the surface in contact with the spacer). The use of such a hydrophobic yarn in the technical face and back of the fabric may help to channel moisture away from the technical back (which in use is in contact with a user's skin) and towards the hydrophobic portion of the technical face, which ensures rapid wicking of moisture away from a user's skin. Hydrophobic yarns may be used in the inner surface of the technical face and technical back with or without a hydrophobic spacer yarn. It will be appreciated that the technical face and/or technical back do not require the presence of the hydrophobic yarn as part of their make-up to function, though their presence may enhance the moisture wicking performance of the fabric.

The rate of moisture wicking may also be increased by the pressure acting on the inner layer of the knitted functional fabric. This may especially be the case when the knitted functional fabric comprises elastic yarns as described hereinbelow (i.e. when one, two or three of the technical face, technical back and spacer comprise an elastic yarn). Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the tension of the fabric along with the microenvironment generated by the user's body heat generates a higher pressure on the inner layer (i.e. technical back) of the knitted functional fabric than at the outer layer (technical face), effectively ensuring that moisture wicking occurs only in one direction, from the inner surface to the outer surface (i.e. from technical back to technical face) and hence to the ambient environment.

Hydrophilic yarns that may be mentioned herein may be formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide (e.g. a nylon), a polyester, cotton, cellulose acetate, rayon, flax, modified acrylics, modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic, and any yarn designed to have a cross section that is hydrophilic (i.e. a high wicking capability). For the avoidance of doubt, the hydrophilic yarns mentioned here may be used in any part of the knitted functional fabric where a hydrophilic yarn may be mentioned. In addition, it is noted that the hydrophilic yarn(s) used in each part of the knitted functional fabric may be independently selected by the skilled person, based on the desired performance required.

In particular embodiments of the invention, a hydrophilic yarn mentioned herein may be formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide (e.g. nylon), a polyester, rayon and modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic or any yarn developed with a specific cross section to be hydrophilic (high wicking capability). In more particular embodiments of the invention, the hydrophilic yarn may be a nylon (e.g. nylon 6), a polyester or rayon.

In embodiments of the invention in which the technical face and/or the technical back may be formed from a first yarn and a second yarn that are plaited together, the second yarn may be a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn. Such covered hydrophobic yarns may advantageously provide a finer gauge look to the fabric.

In embodiments of the invention that may be mentioned herein, the first yarn may have a diameter that is larger than that of the second yarn. For example, the diameter:diameter ratio of the first yarn to the second yarn may be from about 8:1 to about 1.5:1, such as from about 5:1 to about 2:1, such as about 3:1. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the use of these diameter ratios helps to avoid mis-plaiting during the production of the fabric.

In some embodiments of the invention, the spacer yarn may be formed from a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn. In particular embodiments of the invention that may be mentioned herein, the hydrophobic yarn may be an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn. In embodiments of the invention that may be mentioned herein, the elastic yarn may be elastane. Without wishing to be bound by theory, the use of elastane (or other elastic yarns) is believed to be advantageous because it will result in a thinner fabric overall, which increases the rate of wicking of moisture from the user's skin to the outer layer.

As noted above, the knitted functional fabric may have one or more components where a hydrophobic yarn is present. At each occurrence, the hydrophobic yarn in these embodiments may be independently selected from a polyester, which polyester may be selected from a recycled polyester, a recycled polyester with micro filaments, a polyester yarn with a star-like filament cross-section and coolmax™ high wicking yarn (poly cotton), (e.g. a recycled polyester with micro filaments).

The invention will be described below with reference to the Figures.

FIG. 1 shows the spacer knit structure of each of the technical front 101, technical back 102 and spacer yarn 103. FIG. 2 shows the outer layer of the spacer fabric, with the (plated) technical front 101 and back 102. FIG. 3 shows the plated fabric knitting diagram for the fabric of FIG. 2 , and shows how the platting stitch is created by pulling two yarns from a previous set of loops. The arrow indicates the needle direction pulling the new loop through previous loop.

FIG. 4 shows the 3D structure of the knitted functional fabric, with the technical front 401, technical back 402 and spacer yarn 403. Also shown are the plated inner surface of the technical front 401 a and plated inner surface of the technical back 402 a.

A summary of the function and advantages provided by each layer is listed below.

-   -   The top and bottom layers (technical face and back) comprise a         hydrophilic yarn that results in a hydrophilic outer side and         may optionally have an inside plated with hydrophobic yarn. The         hydrophilic yarns ensure rapid moisture wicking away from a         user's skin and distribution of moisture over a large area,         promoting rapid evaporation. When present, the hydrophobic yarns         forming an inside plate provide rapid wicking through the centre         of the fabric and promote passage of moisture to the outer side         (technical face).     -   The middle layer is formed from a spacer yarn that may be         hydrophobic. The spacer supports the fabric, providing         dimensional stability and a cushioning effect. A hydrophobic         spacer helps to channel moisture from one side to the other         (i.e. from the technical back to technical face) and prevents         moisture collecting in the middle of the fabric.

The invention also provides a garment formed from the knitted functional fabric described above. In particular embodiments of the invention, the garment may be the whole or part of a bra or a protective garment. Particular examples of suitable protective garments include head gear, a knee guard, and an elbow guard. 

1. A knitted functional fabric for wicking moisture away from the body of a user, the fabric comprising: a technical face formed from a yarn; a technical back formed from a yarn; and a spacer formed from a yarn that connects the technical face to the technical back, wherein the yarn used for the technical face and the technical back comprises a hydrophilic yarn.
 2. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 1, wherein the fabric further comprises a spacer formed from a yarn that connects the technical face to the technical back, where the yarn used for the spacer comprises a hydrophobic yarn.
 3. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 1, wherein the yarn used for the technical face and technical back is formed by a first and a second yarn that are plaited together, the first yarn being a hydrophilic yarn formed on an outer surface of the technical face or technical back and the second yarn being a hydrophobic yarn formed on an inner surface that faces the spacer.
 4. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic yarn is formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide, a polyester, cotton, cellulose acetate, rayon, flax, modified acrylics, modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic, and any yarn designed to have a cross section that is hydrophilic.
 5. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 4, wherein the hydrophilic yarn is formed from one or more of the group consisting of a polyamide, a polyester, rayon and modified polyvinyl alcohols, a yarn that has been chemically treated to be hydrophilic or any yarn developed with a specific cross section to be hydrophilic.
 6. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 3, wherein the second yarn is a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn.
 7. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 3, wherein the first yarn has a diameter that is larger than the second yarn.
 8. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 7, wherein the diameter:diameter ratio of the first yarn to the second yarn is from 8:1 to 1.5:1, such as from 5:1 to 2:1, such as 3:1.
 9. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 1, wherein the spacer yarn is formed from a hydrophobic yarn selected from the group consisting of an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn, an elastic yarn covered by a yarn treated to be hydrophobic, and a hydrophobic monofilament yarn.
 10. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 9, wherein the hydrophobic yarn is an elastic yarn covered by a hydrophobic yarn.
 11. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 10, wherein the elastic yarn is elastane.
 12. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 2, wherein the hydrophobic yarn is independently selected from a polyester.
 13. A garment formed from the knitted functional fabric according to claim
 1. 14. The garment according to claim 13, wherein the garment is the whole or part of a bra or a protective garment.
 15. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 5, wherein the hydrophilic yarn is a nylon, a polyester or rayon.
 16. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 5, wherein the any yarn developed with a specific cross section to be hydrophilic has a high wicking capability.
 17. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 12, wherein the polyester is a recycled polyester, a recycled polyester with micro filaments, a polyester yarn with a star-like filament cross-section, coolmax™ high wicking yarn (poly cotton), and a recycled polyester with micro filaments.
 18. The garment according to claim 14 wherein the protective garment is head gear, a knee guard, and an elbow guard.
 19. The knitted functional fabric according to claim 4, wherein the any yarn developed with a specific cross section to be hydrophilic has a high wicking capability. 